MAKING DRY ROCK LIVE

[Abe]

I am in the planning stages of setting up my 230G salt water tank. It is going to be a slow progress because I want to make sure I cover all bases. During the wait, I thought I should get some dry rocks and make them live until I have the tank ready. I am going to put them in a rubbermaid bin under a 250w MH, power head and a heater, is there anything else needed to make my dry rock become live. Any input will be much appreciated.

[Starry]

Live rock to seed and alot less light.

[Corbin]

no light what so ever, keep the algae away till its in your tank. live rock too seed bacteria.

[syncro]

You can also seed with a bacterial additive like MicroBacter7 or Prodibio.

[Abe]

yea I would go with the additive, I dont want to use any live rock in my new tank just worried of aptisia lol. how low of light do I need, I thought if you go with no light I will be cooking the rock.

[Corbin]

well you cant really cook dry rock, if your meaning, dry rock as, it was never live rock from a reef but man made instead.

"But before I do I just want to say that Bomber instructed me how to do it several months ago and it works great. So it is his process that I am trying to make popular and cause fellow hobbyists a lot less heartache in the long term.
The purpose of "cooking" your rocks is to have tha bacteria consume all (or as much) organic material and PO4 stored on, and in, the rock as possible.

The first step to this is commitment.
You have to be willing to remove your rock from the tank.
It doesn't have to be all at once, but I feel if you are going to do this do it all. In stages if that is easier but make sure that all of it gets done.

The new environment you are creating for your rock is to take it from an algal driven to a bacterial driven system.
In order to this, the rock needs to be in total darkness to retard and eventually kill the algae's on the rock and to give the bacteria time to do the job."

- http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=437342

If you just want to seed the rock, you dont really need the rock since the bacteria doesnt really need it. but to get coraline etc growing then yeah.